Information about Titanic the musical

Like my thread about the original production of "A Little Night Music", I am very interested in general information, tid bits and(maybe??)scandel regarding the Broadway production of Titanic. I have the libretto (a glorious picture book: I highly recommend you take a look at it if you've never seen it!) and the OBC. Yeston wrote a thrilling score for the show. I saw the production on tour in Pittsburgh back in 2000, but was only 10 years old at the time and dont remember much about it.

---

I remember they were having lots of technical difficulties during previews. The set wasn't working properly, and there were many nights, when, according to the cast, they "rewrote history" since the ship didn't sink that night. They opened to solid, if not fabulous, reviews, and the box office was somewhat tepid. Many in the general public were disappointed it was not a stage version of the film, which had just come out. Rosie O'Donnell became the show's biggest public supporter, and had the cast on numerous times and talked about the show constantly. The show went on to win 5 Tony Awards and had a respectable run, though I don't think it ever recouped.

The score remains glorious and the voices in that original cast were top notch. My two favorite performances in the show came from two, at the time, relatively unknown performers- Brian D'Arcy James and Victoria Clark, both of whom deserved Tony nominations for their work. Michael Cerveris and David Garrison were also wonderful.

In terms of the production, I remember a couple of wonderfully staged moments- the first being the aforementioned sliding cart at the top of act 2. Beautiful visual. The other was the heartbreaking scene during We'll Meet Tomorrow, when they were literally pulling people off of each other.

I really liked the production and saw it for the first time the night before it won the Tony for Best Musical. I ended up seeing the Broadway production 9 times (including it's final performance). I love the score and found the opening number to be especially memorable. The stunning opening number always gave me chills and the glorious ensemble singing brought tears to my eyes. I remember the ovation that particular number received when it finished. There were no weak links in the cast, though I especially liked Jennifer Peich (Kate McGowan), Victoria Clark (Alice Beane) and Brian d'Arcy James. One of my other favorite numbers was, "We'll Meet Tomorrow" and I'm disappointed that "The Staircase" number didn't make it onto any of the cast recordings. The set design kind of looked on the cheap side though.

I attended the poorly produced and conceived concert version last month in NYC. Although it did remind me how much I appreciate the score. I own not only the OBC, but the German and Dutch cast recordings as well (all are wonderful).

---

Updated On: 7/22/10 at 12:12 PM

"Many in the general public were disappointed it was not a stage version of the film, which had just come out."

That can't be true 'cause the TITANIC musical opened in April 1997. The film's release was slated for that summer but was pushed back 'til December due to rising post-production costs. Either way, the musical opened first, thus it had no initial comparisons with the movie for the first 8 months.

---

I saw the Broadway production four times; had friends in the cast, and it was by far my favorite show that season.

The book and score are perfect. The design, elegant and very stylized, confused and bothered many people.

A lot of negative comment was based on what the show wasn't; for instance, the end of Act I was a gorgeous view from afar of the ship sailing offstage to meet its doom. Many people, for their own reasons, thought that they were supposed to see the ship hit the iceberg onstage at that moment, and assumed that something broke. However, that's not what was supposed to happen there.

Some people criticized the show for not featuring a central character or couple (like the awful DiCaprio movie); once again, this was not what the show was - it was a terrific impressionistic tapestry of the many types of people in this experience.

The moment at the end, when the survivors walked through the memory of the dead at the launch always choked me up.

That's why I said it had no INITIAL comparisons with the movie. adamgreer made it seem like they opened around the same time.

---

Sorry for the confusion. I know one opened before the other, but I definitely remember reports of people being disappointed it wasn't the film onstage. They just obviously happened later in the run than I thought.

I agree wth MisterMatt. It was the score that really made the show. Wasn't my favourite of the season, but it's hard to not like a score that has so many gems in it. Personal favourite is "Lady's Maid."

I actually liked the set, thought they did some cool effects with it (like the floor sloping... I remember they had on the Tony Awards that year all the different design elements describe what they did). DIdn't the lobby of the Lunt also have all the names or something painted around the lobby?

Edit - I also remember after the movie was released TOURISTS assumed it was based off the movie, which of course it was not. But it wasn't until after the film!

Also, they did do the best they could with the book considering everyone knows the ship is going to sink at the end.

Updated On: 7/22/10 at 12:50 PM

This is one of those shows that I went to begrudgingly. I was not frequenting NY as I am now, and saw only a few shows each year and relied heavily on the Tony Awards to help inform my decisions. I was utterly bored by the number they performed -- which if memory serves me was the opening number.

My HS students picked this as one of their shows for our annual NY weekend. I wasn't really expecting much -- but I get to go for free, so what the heck!

I remember being initially struck by the interior of the lobby. On the walls were the passenger lists, from First Class down to Third Class. An asterisk was placed next to the name of the survivors. It was chilling to see the number of asterisks dramatically drop as you looked from 1st to 3rd Class. Very sobering and chilling. Set a great mood.

I loved the show...except for the red l.e.d. lights for the clock that flanked the stage to keep the audience abreast of the time of the action. I mean, really...digital clock?????

---

I agree with the poster who would like to see more characterization in a new production. I've always thought it would work well with steel girders and projections. I personally thought the miniature ship sailing was a little cheesy. But the score is IMO classy and I would watch this anytime over the film. The actual sinking was simple but effective.

I'd forgotten about the miniature ship! Gosh, that WAS awful! (Maybe I blocked it out?

I still marvel at the amount of SPACE needed for the actual sinking of the set.

---

There were so many things they did amazing and some things not so much. We have covered orchestrations which were fantastic. They hydrolics that people have complained about really made the second act. I loved how the boat with tipped for the second act. It made things much more realistic. So many great actors/actresses were a part of the cast. There were a couple of characters that I thought were unnecessary (old couple). If they are to be included in future revivals then they need to add more. Great costumes! The book was weak. In the second act I remember thinking please just sink. Also to add the tour version was not even worth seeing. The sets and everything were nothing in comparison. Very grateful that i saw it on Broadway and in Chicago. My favorite numbers include the opening. Even though its long I love when openings introduce the characters. I also enjoyed "Lady's Maid", "The Barret's Song," and "The proposal/The Night Was Alive."

I think one of the things I didn't like about the production was that little kid running back and forth in the opening number. What was the purpose of him anyway?

---